A Lesson That Has Taught Me from My Mistake

There are many mistakes that I have made in my life and have learned from them; however, I believe that every mistake that I have made was placed in my road of life for a reason. As I experience life, I try to make the right decision and live life with no regret. There are a few decisions in the past that I wish I could change but things would be much different today. In today’s society, having a college degree can be an advantage to starting a career in which you can enjoy.I wish that I attended college immediately after I graduated high school; furthermore, I have learned that continuing to study is important than taking a big break from studying. I migrated to America from South Korea with my family when I was a freshman in high school.

My parents wanted my sister and I to live the American dream, which at the time was to get a free education and have better opportunities after high school. At first, I was enjoying life, meeting new friends and not learning much English.My parents were really upset with me because I was hanging around a lot of Korean people and realized that was the reason my English was not improving. I transferred to a new high school where I struggled to meet close friends because most of the Koreans were Korean-Americans. The Korean-Americans looked down on many Koreans that were migrating to America at that time. It was sometime during senior year where I decided not to go to college and join the United States Army in 2003.

I was really nervous because it would be the first time in my life that I would leave my family.There were few reasons why I did not go to college after high school. My parents were working multiple jobs at gas stations and restaurants. I did not want to be a financial burden because I knew they were working hard to save up and open up their own business.

I also liked the idea of traveling around the world and getting paid for it. This way I could start a career at an early age and at the same time to help with my parents’ dream of opening a restaurant by sending them money.Eventually, my parents were able to open a very successful carry-out. While I was in the military I decided to attend college after my military contract was done. My goal was to finish my three year military contract and have the military pay for my college. However, my plan was delayed because of marriage and two kids.

I want to say that having my family and joining in military were no mistake. I did learn and realize that I could have gone to college for free through scholarships and federal grants.The lack of research when I was in high school was a mistake. I did not talk to any of my counselors on my different options that I had. In conclusion, I have learned that it is never too late to attend college, but I have realized that it is easier to attend college if you have no kids.

Also, not being able to study continuously and taking a break from studying, it was very difficult to start again for me. Now, I have to put an extra effort to reach my goal; therefore, my mistake has taught me a valuable lesson.